The present invention relates to a gaming system in which a xe2x80x9cLarge Prizexe2x80x9d is made available to a player at a gaming terminal when an additional wager for that Large Prize is made by the player. The additional wager is in addition to the wager required to play the normal game on any particular gaming terminal. Preferably, the win/loss for that additional wager on that particular gaming station is determined based on information transmitted (directly or indirectly) from a central computer, or aggregate of (xe2x80x9csuitexe2x80x9d of) central computers, to the individual gaming stations.
A number of gaming systems include gaming stations or terminals, typically electronic terminals, although partially-mechanical terminals are also possible. Examples of electronic gaming terminals include electronic slot machines, electronic keno machines and the like. In a typical situation, a plurality of such machines are provided and a user activates or initiates play on one or more such machines by an action such as inserting a coin in a coin slot, currency in a bill verifier, inserting a credit card and/or smart card, making a selection by a push button, touch screen, etc., e.g. to make a wager. After play is initiated by a user, the gaming terminal determines whether the user has won or lost, and the terminal outputs this information and/or makes a payoff to the user.
One example of a situation in which win/loss of a large prize is centrally determined or influenced is a so-called progressive (multi-termninal) system. As used herein, a multi-terminal game or multi-terminal prize relates to a system in which a prize is funded from wagers placed at a plurality of different gaming terminals, typically with a central computer system keeping track of the contribution of wagers at various gaming terminals towards funding of the multi-terminal prize. In contrast, a local game or local prize refers to a system or prize in which there is no direct contribution toward a prize awarded at one gaming terminal from wagers placed at a different gaming terminal. In a typical progressive system, once a player has made at least a predetermined minimum wager on the normal, local game, the player is automatically eligible for a progressive prize. I.e. in typical progressive systems, the player does not place a separate wager towards the large prize. Typically, the player cannot place an additional wager on the progressive prize (over and above a wager placed on the normal gaming terminal (local) game), i.e. at least some portion of the wager which creates eligibility for the multi-terminal prize, goes towards the normal (local) game play (e.g. changing eligibility, odds or payout amounts on the local game). Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a gaming apparatus, system and/or method which could, if desired, be readily configured to allow a player to place an additional wager (or to choose to play the normal game without placing an additional wager) to achieve eligibility for a large multi-terminal prize, with no portion of the additional wager going towards (affecting eligibility, odds or payout size) play of the normal (local, single-terminal) game. It would be further advantageous to provide a Large Prize that all players on any gaming terminal of a multi-terminal system playing any game could compete for by placing an additional wager above and beyond the wager required to play that particular game.
Additionally, typical progressive systems have no way of assuring that for each large (multi-terminal) prize, there will be a pre-determined, preferably integral, number of losses (i.e. game plays which are eligible for a multi-terminal prize, but which do not result in a multi-terminal prize win. Accordingly it would be useful to provide a system, apparatus and method which assures a predetermined, preferably integral, number of losses for each multi-terminal prize win, preferably without regard to whether the losses occur before or after (usually both) the multi-terminal prize is won.
It is possible to devise gaming systems which provide a set of pre-determined but randomized, game results with only one (or with a known number) of such outcomes bearing winning outcomes. However, if players are aware that the known number of winning outcomes has been won, players may desist from further wagering, because all remaining outcomes are thought to be losing outcomes. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a gaming system apparatus and method which provides a known. preferably integral, ration of wins to losses, without discouraging players from further, play, once a certain number of prizes has been won.
Furthermnore, a system which provides a fixed number of game outcomes with a single (or predetermined number of) winning outcome(s), can result in wide variations in playersxe2x80x2 chances of winning a prize, both as the non-winning outcomes are depleted and as the winning outcomes are depleted. For example, with a fixed number of outcomes and only a single winning outcome, a player""s probability of winning drops to zero after the single prize has been won and until the remaining losing prizes have been depleted. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a system which can achieve a predetermined number of losing outcomes for each winning outcome while still achieving substantial fairness to players by avoiding excessive or undue changes in playersxe2x80x2 chances of winning a prize as the games progress.
In a system in which information that determines game outcome has its source at a central computer (coupled, directly or indirectly, to a plurality of gaming terminals) provisions are needed for communicating the information from the central computer for use by or with the gaming terminals. When the system involves communication of a relatively large amount of information and/or communication to a relatively large number of gaming terminals, there is a risk that play at individual gaming terminals may be interrupted or slowed down while the terminals (or intermediate components) are awaiting receipt of the information. In some systems avoidance of such slow-downs could require an unduly large communications bandwidth, i.e. which is too costly to make a systerm-practical and/or which could prevent retrofitting existing gaming systems with a central game determination process. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a system in which central outcome-determining information can be feasiblely communicated without undue costs, and substantially without interfering with desirably rapid game play at a gaming terminal, preferably in a manner which can be readily implemented on existing gaming systems (e.g. with existing communication capabilities).
In a centrally-controlled operation, the perception of the user can be important. It is believed that in many situations, the maximum entertainment value of such gaming is achieved when players or users subjectively believe that their manner of play and/or decision to play/not play at a particular time and/or at a particular station influences the win/loss outcome. For example, players often want to feel that they have a better chance of winning if they play selectively at those places or those times when they xe2x80x9cfeel luckyxe2x80x9d. It is believed that the entertainment value of gaming is reduced if the players believe that, at the time the game is played, the decision as to whether they win or lose has already been made, and/or is centrally made.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a system in which the win/loss decision at any individual electronic gaming terminal is determined by a central computer, and yet to increase entertainment value by providing players with a situation in which they perceive that their decision whether and when to play changes the win/loss outcome, or the probabilities thereof.
In one embodiment, a xe2x80x9cLarge Prizexe2x80x9d system is composed of a central computer suite, casino local xe2x80x9cCluster Controllerxe2x80x9d computers, and gaming terminals. The Cluster Controllers are connected to the Central System, e.g. via modems and telephone lines for their communications. The Cluster Controllers are connected to gaming terminals, e.g. via a communications medium within the casino environment.
The player, at a gaming terminal, actuates buttons to indicate the desire to wager for, and participate in, the xe2x80x9cLarge Prizexe2x80x9d draw. This participation is preferably optional and/or in addition to the normal play wager. The gaming terminal indicates, in its next communications with a Cluster Controller, that it needs a Large Prize draw entry. The Cluster Controller draws an entry from a Large Prize sub-stack, which it has received from the Central System. When the Cluster Controller exhausts its sub-stack of entries it requests a replacement from the Central System on its next communications with the Central System. The draw entry indicates whether the player has won or lost the Large Prize value.
The Central System maintains serialized stacks and sub-stacks. The stacks are composed of a finite set of entries with all but a predetermined number of the entries being a loss. One (or more) win entry is a large prize win amount. The Central Computer system builds and serializes the stacks and then firther divides the stacks into sub-stacks of entries. The sub-stacks are also serialized and their Cluster Controller ID assignment is archived (as it is determined).
The xe2x80x9cLarge Prizexe2x80x9d central management application software provides sub-stack draws to the xe2x80x9cCluster Controllersxe2x80x9d via phone lines and modem communications. The Central System maintains a set of stacks typically of a fixed quantity. Each stack is divided into sub-stacks, also of a finite size. The selection of a particular sub-stack to be sent to a Cluster Controller is determined by a random number generator that provides a selection number in the range of one to the size of the xe2x80x9cVirtual Stack Selectorxe2x80x9d array of stack selector numbers. The next sub-stack drawn from a stack is determined by the random number generator.
In one aspect, in a gaming system, a central computer generates a plurality of game winloss outcome stacks, each stack having at least one xe2x80x9cwinxe2x80x9d (preferably, large-prize) outcome. Substacks, from among the plurality of stacks, are transmitted to casino or other group controllers or computers, each casino controller being coupled to a plurality of gaming terminals. In response to placing a large-prize wager, in addition to normal, local game wager, a gaming terminal requests a large-prize outcome from the sub-stack which is stored in the casino controller. Whenever a casino controller""s sub-stack is depleted, it requests a new sub-stack from the central computer. Preferably the central computer selects a newxsub-stack for transmission according to a selection process which is weighted so as to maintain the ratio of winning outcomes to all outcomes in a predetermined range. When all sub-stacks of a given stack have been transmitted, the central computer generates a new stack to replace the depleted stack.